


All This Time

by Spacecadet72



Category: Knives Out (2019)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23195113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spacecadet72/pseuds/Spacecadet72
Summary: Marta kisses Benoit after an emotional couple of days, and misunderstandings ensue.
Relationships: Benoit Blanc/Marta Cabrera
Comments: 18
Kudos: 111





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hopeless_Romantic_Dreamer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hopeless_Romantic_Dreamer/gifts).



> This is the start of a prompt fill for Hopeless_Romantic_Dreamer. The actual prompts will be in the next chapter which should be out in the next day or two.
> 
> Title comes from the OneRepublic song of the same name.

Benoit held Marta as she sobbed against him, his heart breaking for the stress and emotional ride she had been through the past 48 hours. Her mother had been admitted to the hospital two days ago, complaining of a pain in her side. It had been touch and go for a while as they operated, but everything was fine and the doctors were confident she would make a full recovery.

Marta had been the strong one at the hospital while Alice melted down, and Benoit had been there for Marta, needing to know the whole family would be alright, needing to support them either way. She hadn't cried once while at the hospital, just focused on helping Alice and getting her mother the care she needed.

Her mother had all but ordered her home to shower and sleep in a regular bed once it was clear everything would be alright. Alice had gone home the day before and said she would stay with their mother. Benoit had offered to drive her home; he knew she hadn't had much actual rest in the past two days.

As soon as they had gotten into the house, the tears had started to fall, and she had pressed herself against his chest as she cried, loud sobs that seemed to tear right through him. He had held her to him closely, rubbing his hand against her back and murmuring soothing words that he wasn't sure she heard.

She pulled back after several minutes, wiping at her eyes and looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure why I'm crying, she's going to be okay."

"You've been through an excruciating past couple of days," he said, looking down at her gently. "A little crying is to be expected."

"More than a little," she said, hiding her face in her hand.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," he said, pulling her hands away from her face and looking deeply into her eyes. "You're allowed to cry."

She looked at him for a moment, her eyes glittering with unshed tears, before she leaned up and pressed her lips to his softly. His eyes widened before they fluttered closed and he pressed back gently. Marta was kissing him. Marta was _kissing_ him. He had been pining over her for months, but hadn't wanted to push for something she didn't want.

Her kisses moved from gentle to hungry as she made a mewling sound against his mouth. Just moments ago she had been crying into his shirt, and now--

Oh.

She was sleep deprived and emotional and most likely reaching out for the kind of comfort that people sought when horrible things happened and they were reminded of their mortality. He couldn't do this, wouldn't take advantage.

He pulled back, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her from chasing his mouth with hers. "Marta," he said, his eyes closing briefly at the sight of her, tear stained cheeks and just kissed lips. "We should stop."

She let out a breath and nodded. "You're right," she said, reaching a shaky hand up to wipe at the tears on her cheeks. "I don't know what I was thinking."

Her words felt like a slap, but he kept his expression neutral. She had been through a lot. She didn't need to know how she had hurt him. "You should probably get some sleep," he said, taking a step back to put some distance between them.

She nodded, her cheeks red. "You're okay to stay in the guest room?" she asked, not quite meeting his eyes. This wasn't the first time he had stayed over, and he usually stayed in the same room.

"I'll be fine."

She turned away from him with a soft "goodnight" to walk upstairs, and he felt like his heart might break to watch her walk away, to know that the kiss had meant nothing to her. Once she was out of sight, he took in a deep breath and scrubbed his hands over his face as he let it out. He would spend tonight mourning what might have been, especially now that he knew what her lips felt like on his, but after that, he would push those feelings aside and focus on being her friend. It was what she wanted, and she didn't need an old man like him pining after her.

As he lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling and wondering how he was ever going to get over her, he hoped sleep wasn't evading her the way it was him. He rolled over with a sigh, hoping a new position would help. He would conquer this and she would never know.

* * *

The next morning was awkward, both of them aware of the other in their space.

"About last night--" Marta began, looking him in the eyes for the first time since before the kiss. She looked tired, but more well rested than she had the whole time they were at the hospital.

He waved a hand, dismissing her apology. He didn't need to hear her say she was sorry or that it meant nothing. "Don't worry about it," he said, hoping his tone came across as casual and she couldn't hear the pain in his voice.

She looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Okay," she said before turning away. "What do you want for breakfast?"

The awkwardness faded as the day went on and they returned to the hospital, their focus on her mother's recovery. He thought there was a moment that Alice might have caught him staring at her sister with more than just friendly feelings, but then she moved her gaze to her mother and he wasn't sure of what he had seen on her face.

This was pathetic. He needed to move on. She would probably have been horrified to know how he felt, no matter that she had kissed him last night. Her friendship was too important to him to mess this up. He would get over her, and no one ever need know what feelings he had once harbored for her.

She looked over at him, a bright smile on her face at something her mother had said, and he was gone, his feelings too deep to dismiss in a moment.

_Shit._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marta and Benoit talk, at Alice's urging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopeless_Romantic_Dreamer sent two prompts, and originally, I was going to use both in this chapter, but I changed my mind and will only be using the one prompt "I still remember the way you taste." The other one I'll use in a different story. :)
> 
> Aside from romantic relationships, sibling relationships are some of my absolute favorite to write, so I love bringing Alice into things. :D

Benoit offered to go get everyone lunch once her mom fell asleep, and after he was gone, Alice moved to take the seat he had occupied next to Marta.

"What's going on?" she asked, her tone accusatory.

Marta's brow wrinkled in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"There's something going on between you and Blanc. What is it?"

Marta sighed and pressed her face into her hands and groaned. If only she could have taken back everything that happened once they got home last night. Why did she have to kiss him? She could remember the look on his face when he pulled back and stopped her from trying to kiss him again. Oh, what had possessed her last night? She had felt so stupid when he had looked at her with such pity. He didn't want her, didn't love her as anything more than a friend.

"Well?" Alice asked when Marta didn't say anything.

She took her hands away from her face. "I kissed him last night," she said without meeting Alice's eyes.

"What?" Alice hissed out, her eyes wide when Marta snuck a glance at her expression.

Marta nodded shamefully, her eyes falling closed, as the events of last night came back to her in bright technicolor. "I started crying, because of everything that was going on, and he looked at me with such tenderness that I just...kissed him."

"Then what's the problem?" Alice asked, sounding confused. "Shouldn't you be happy? He's been in love with you for forever."

Marta's head whipped over to look at Alice, incredulous. "What are you talking about? He stopped the kiss. He doesn't love me like that."

Alice snorted. "Okay."

"I'm serious, Alice," she said, wishing she didn't need to be having this conversation. "We're just friends."

"I don't know what happened, or what's going on in that weird head of his, but the way he looks at you..." Alice shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said, leaning over to wrap an arm around Marta.

"Thanks, Alice," she said, with a sigh. At least they could stop talking about this now. No matter what her sister thought she had seen, Marta remembered the look on Benoit’s face as he stopped the kiss. She knew he cared about her, but he didn’t have feelings for her. It would be best if she could just forget about it and they could both move on.

Benoit returned with food a little while later, and they all visited over lunch.

“Marta, are you alright?” her mother asked a few hours after they had eaten, and Marta tried to fight her blush.

“I’m fine, just tired,” she said, forcing herself not to glance at Benoit and see how he was reacting.

“Marta, can you go grab me some coffee?” Alice asked, her tone was strange and struck a chord of unease in Marta.

She nodded, despite her fear of what Alice might be doing. “Of course, Alice. Your regular order?”

Alice nodded. “Why don’t you go with her, Mr. Blanc?”

Benoit and Marta’s eyes met before both of them looked away, much too quickly.

“I’m not sure--” Benoit began, waving a hand in front of him.

“I’d like some time alone with mom,” she said, giving Benoit a wide eyed and much too innocent look.

Marta narrowed her eyes. She was up to something.

He gave Alice a polite smile. “Of course. We’ll give you some time.”

Alice walked over to Marta and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “You need to figure this out.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marta said, even as she knew Alice wouldn’t accept that.

She simply shot Marta a disbelieving look before shooing her and Benoit out of the room.

They walked to the cafeteria in silence. Alice was right. They needed to talk, but Marta wasn’t sure how to start that particular conversation.

“Was Alice just wanting us out of the room so she could talk to your mother?” Benoit asked, suspicion sneaking into his tone.

Marta’s eyes fell closed. Here it was. She shook her head. “No, she wanted us to talk. About last night.”

“Ah.”

Marta glanced around before she pulled Benoit into a small alcove. It wasn’t much privacy, but it was better than standing in the middle of the thankfully empty hallway.

“What are you feeling?” she asked, needing to know where he stood. If he didn’t want her, she would accept it and not bother him about it again. But she needed to know. “If you didn’t like it--”

“I still remember the way you taste,” he said, his voice an ashamed whisper. “I can’t stop thinking about it.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Why did you push me away?” This was what had her convinced he didn’t care for her, but what he had just said, contradicted any concerns she had.

“You were in a vulnerable state,” he said, shaking his head. “I couldn’t take advantage.”

She cupped his cheek with her hand. “I can’t stop thinking about the kiss either, and no matter what's been going on, I wanted it,” she said, a hopeful smile forming on her lips. “Alice said she thought you cared for me, is that true?”

He nodded, before moving his head to press a fervent kiss to her palm. “Sweetheart,” he said, looking at her with such a deep, tender look that she thought she might explode from an overload of feeling. “I love you.”

She pushed up to kiss him, pressing herself tightly to him and pouring everything she felt into the kiss. He responded just as eagerly, holding her firmly in his arms, their kiss filled with a fervor that threatened to overwhelm her. She began to pull back as she remembered where they were.

“In case that wasn’t clear, I love you too,” she said, smiling up at him impishly.

“I may need more demonstrations, but I think I got the message,” he said, his smile matching hers.

She laughed, and took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together in a way that just felt right. She remembered her mother and Alice back in the hospital room and groaned.

“What is it?”

“Alice is going to be insufferable,” she said, thinking of how sure Alice had been that Benoit loved her.

Benoit let out a chuckle. “Let her be. We have each other, that’s worth any teasing.”

Her expression softened as she looked up at him. What had she done to deserve this man? She brought their joined hands to her lips and kissed the back of his hand. “You’re right,” she said, lowering their hands again. “You’re worth it.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said, leaning down to kiss her again, quick and soft. “We should probably rejoin your family.”

She nodded. “They’ll want to hear the news.”

His responding smile was bright and happy and she felt like she might burst from everything she was feeling.

“Do you think they’ll be happy about us?” he asked, a flash of fear and uncertainty in his eyes.

She nodded again, stepping closer, hoping her expression was reassuring. “I do. They want me to be happy, and you make me happy. Besides,” she said, as they walked down the hall, “they’ve always liked you.”

“I’m glad, especially that I make you happy,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze. “You make me happy too. Happier than anything. These past few months being your friend and solving cases and spending time together have been some of best I’ve had in a long while.”

“Even if it exposed you to the Thrombey’s?” she asked, mischievously.

“Oh, darling, you’re worth it.”

They had reached her mother’s hospital room and she took in a deep breath, before sharing a strengthening look with Benoit. Together, they walked into the room, still hand in hand.

Alice’s grin at seeing them holding hands was smug. “I told you,” she said to Marta as they sat down near the bed.

Marta rolled her eyes. “You did.” She couldn’t find it in her to be really annoyed.

“Do you have something to share with us, Marta?” her mother said, sounding delighted.

Marta exchanged a look with Benoit, and upon his nod, she turned to her mother with a smile. “We do.” She didn’t know exactly what a relationship with him would look like, but she was excited to find out.


End file.
